Mijn Boutiques cat sweater seems made for me – the caretaker and servant of a black and white cat named Oscar.

My mom liked to say that everything you do should be done with love. It is one reason why I am so fond of the With Love Hunt an annual event that asks all of us to act with love. Creators are asked to create with love – making wonderful items that they will offer at a fraction of their worth. Bloggers are asked to blog with love and integrity, without giving away anything more than approved hints. Hunters are asked to hunt with love, without complaints about the nomimal 10 linden price or hard-to-find items. We may not all succeed, but we are asked to try.

This sweater from Mijn was certainly made with love, love for cats, for whimsy, for fun. And it came to my attention with love when a blog reader, knowing my fondness for Oscar, alerted me to this Oscarish cat. And yes, I am blogging it with love, love for my ridiculously entertaining cat and the fey spirit that creates such a fun sweater for me to enjoy and the diligent event coordinator who uses her skills to build community.

ooh, those GField shoes are too cute. I want all the colors.

My mother was a great example of doing everything with love. I recall one time when she got mad and got even, but she did it with love. She was one of the few people who never said a harsh word about this notorious gossip from my hometown, the mother of one of my classmates. This woman always had something negative to say about any person who happened to be absent. She probably was an integral part of the attendance program at her church, no one wanting to be absent and thus the target of her venomous speculation about their morals, their parentage, whether they were faithful, whether they really tithed or just held their hand over the collection plate and whatever other horrors sprouted from her fevered imagination. Yes, she really did accuse people of holding their hands over the collection plate!

She was a special kind of gossip who really didn’t need facts or even common sense to populate her tales. In small towns, gossips have a unique power and are usually tolerated out of fear. My Mom, however, was fearless. When the gossip would start to talk about someone, Mom would say, “It’s so dull talking about people who aren’t here. Tell me something new about the person sitting next to you.”

Look! A tail!!!

I happened to fall prey to her gossiping ways when I was nine years old. I had gone to spend the weekend with my brother and his wife and son. I took the Greyhound bus for the 50 mile trip to my brother’s farm which was just outside a larger town that was hosting a county fair that weekend. I guess she saw me get on the bus. So the gossip told anyone who would listen that I had run off with the carnival. Yeah, a nine year old ran off with the carnival. Now, even if I had wanted to, I cannot imagine the carnival would have invited me in. But as I said, common sense was never a prerequisite for her gossip.

My dad was furious and all for asking the pastor to intervene and prohibiting her daughter from coming to play at my house. Mom was calm and pointed out that the gossip’s reputation was so bad that is someone did something bad all they needed to rehabilitate their reputation was to confide in the gossip and have her spread, and thereby discredit, the story. However, my mom did get even…

This new release from Truth is dependably gorgeous. You think he might try to cause some excitement once in a while and make something bad. I am so in love with this collar from Cherry – the jewelry affiliate of House of London. It comes with a HUD so I could probably wear it every day in every way.

The next few orders for her restaurant, she asked the grocery supplier to send the invoices in care of her new bookkeeper, this gossip. She had a few other accounts changed, naming the gossip as her bookkeeper. When the gossip called mom to tell her that someone had made a mistake and was sending her stuff, Mom said, “Oh yes, I meant to tell you about that. I need to meet with you to go over your job description.”

Mom drove out to her farm. She brought along a job application, a W-4 form and blank state tax forms and IRS forms to this meeting while the gossip continued to look confused. Then Mom said, “I was so grateful when you volunteered to mind my business. I hate all this paperwork and really could not afford to hire someone, though I could pay you minimum wage. It is so kind of you to take it on.” The woman spluttered and protested a bit and Mom said, in such a friendly, chiding way, “Well, I think that if you are going to involve yourself in my business, you should involve yourself in the part I don’t like doing.” Of course, the woman denied having ever done or said anything, and Mom graciously said she must have misunderstood but was she sure she didn’t want to do the paperwork. Needless to say, that woman was very careful to leave me and my family out of her gossip after that. It’s funny.

It sounds so much more confrontational on paper than it was in person. The thing is, my mom smiled at the gossip, patted her hand, and was as warm and gracious as she always was. Driving home, Mom said, “Romans 12:20, Look it up!”

Store info at Blogging Second Life
****SHOPPING LIST******
Poses: Status
Skin: AE Skins – Carolyn T2 Sherbert
Eyes: Poetic Colors
Lashes:Lelutka
Mani/Pedi: SLink Mesh Hands
Hair: >TRUTH< Bianca – quince
Clothing: Maitreya Leggings – S Suede-Smoke
mijn.botique/cloth/wool blocks sweater WITHLOVEHUNT 01 M
Shoes: *GF*[Mesh] Fur Cuff Boots “Sasha” -black-[rigged] FAIR
Jewelry: {Cherry} Georgie Collar Necklace
{Cherry} Luella Teardrop Earrings